Read: Proverbs 2 & 3

Read: Acts 2:42-47

How important is the Sabbath and corporate worship?  Many years ago between my four years of college I lived in Holland for a year in a Mennonite exchange program.   Holland was once part of the ocean but the industrious Dutch built great dikes far out in the shallow sea, and so reclaimed the land.  As their dikes hold the ocean back, on the landward side the people occupy their homes, farmers till their land, and the wheels of commerce turn.

There is an illustration in those dikes that pertains to the Sabbath day of corporate worship.  In fact many of the rural lowlanders in Holland have a quaint way of referring to Sunday, the Christian Sabbath.  They speak of Sunday as God’s dike because what God’s people do on this day each week serves society in the same way a dike serves the land.  As the dike holds back the sea, so does Sunday and the worship experience help to hold back the flood of evil which is forever threatening to overflow the people.

God interposes the instruction and inspiration of Christian worship as a bulwark against wrong.  The Christian Sabbath is civilizations strongest social buttress against the flood of evil, fear, and despair which press up hard against us.  What we do in worship each Sunday is strengthen our dikes, to help keep them in good repair.  In worship we are not merely doing something for ourselves, we are also doing something for the world.  We are taking part in an unceasing effort which involves many millions of people and stretches over many centuries of time.  Let’s be aware of this vast body of Christ called the church that we are involved in, and let’s be glad in it just like the early believers were in Acts 2.  Acts 2:42 says, “They devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and to fellowship, to the breaking of bread and prayer.”

Make it Personal:  How important is Sabbath day worship to you and your family?  Are you a part of it so that you can hold back the things that are trying to pull at you and pull you away from the Lord?  Worshiping together with the brothers and sisters in Christ is so very important and this past year we have realized this in a new way.  Hope to see you this Sunday!

Read: James 3:13-18

In the book of James the question is asked, “Who is wise and understanding among you?”  Anyone want to raise their hand and take the first question?  The verses following this talk about humility and living a good life filled with wisdom that comes down from heaven.  This kind of wisdom is not earthly as in the knowledge of things that are temporal.  This wisdom from heaven is a pattern for living as Jesus would want us to live out our faith here on earth.

What does it look like?  Verse 17 makes it clear for us.  “But the wisdom that comes from heaven is first of all pure, then peace-loving, considerate, submissive, full of mercy and good fruit, impartial and sincere.”  How are we doing in those things?  They are not always easy to follow but they do make for a blessed life and a life that honors God.

Verse 18 then speaks of being peacemakers in this world.  It says, “Peacemakers who sow in peace reap a harvest of righteousness.”  Just like farmers will harvest in the Fall what they sow this Spring, the same is true with our lives.  If you sow the characteristics listed above you will find your life reaping the goodness of God and the blessings He has for you.  You will also find yourself getting along much better with family, friends, co-workers, and others in your life. 

Make it Personal:  Who do you need to offer mercy to right now?  Who needs you to be the peacemaker that these verses are speaking of?  The Holy Spirit will guide us each in the disbursement of this wisdom that comes from heaven.  Let’s go out and sow it plentifully.

Read: Psalm 95:1-7

I read an interesting article this week about a new concept called “Shared Work Space.”  In this past year the pandemic has forced many people (who are able) to work from home.  Some companies have realized that this can be a workable solution and actually save the company money on office space, utilities, and other expenses.  Some workers love this setup and others have had trouble adjusting to being alone at home instead of in the presence of others.  Shared work space buildings offer a low cost office space in which workers from different industries do their jobs remotely but are still around others to converse with, share coffee breaks, talk about the days weather, or whatever else might come up in this shared work space environment.

This made me realize once again how important shared worship space is for God’s people.  I think we have all realized that this past year (during the pandemic) when at times we were worshiping on our phones and laptops each Sunday.  We can worship Jesus alone and we can worship Jesus in our day to day responsibilities.  We should do that throughout our week, but there is something powerful about the gathered church coming together in person to worship, fellowship, and be together that is irreplaceable.  That’s one thing we have learned to appreciate even more this past year if we didn’t before.

Psalm 95 says, “Come, let us sing for joy to the Lord.”  Several other verses in this Psalm stress the word “Come” and the phrase “let us” as it speaks of worshiping the Lord, bowing down before the Lord, and praising the Lord’s name together.  This is a reminder that shared worship space, and shared worship times together as God’s people was important then and is also important today.  We need people, we need each other, and we need the church to gather together basically because we can’t do this on our own.  We need Jesus and we need to be with each other, in person!

Make it Personal:  The reason we have had to worship in different ways this past year is due to safety and precaution on the part of many.  This is understandable and each person must do what they are most comfortable with during these difficult times.  But we can never forget about the longing people have and need for fellowship, touch, and shared worship space. Let’s move forward together and worship together in the days ahead.